


Bitter And Sweet

by afteriwake



Series: In So Few Words [70]
Category: Doctor Who
Genre: Costume Parties & Masquerades, Crossdressing, Darillium, Eleventh Doctor Mention, F/M, Flirty River Song, Flirty Twelfth Doctor, Fourth Doctor Mention, Hugs, Kissing, Light Angst, Nine Years Later, Old Married Couple, Post-Episode: 2015 Xmas The Husbands of River Song, River Dresses Like Twelve, Sharing Clothes, So Married, Teasing, Tenth Doctor Mention, Twelfth Doctor Era, Twelfth Doctor Shows Affection, Twelve's Coat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-19
Updated: 2017-10-19
Packaged: 2019-01-19 13:57:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 632
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12411627
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/afteriwake/pseuds/afteriwake
Summary: The Doctor has thoughts while River gets ready for a costume party.





	Bitter And Sweet

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Chitarra](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chitarra/gifts).



> So my friend **Chitarra** requested a Twelve and River fic, and I used a prompt from [this list](http://penaltywaltz.tumblr.com/post/137274126169/nonsexual-acts-of-intimacy-select-from-the) (" _Finding the other wearing their clothes_ ") for the fic. I didn't intend for it to be angsty, it just...happened. Sorry!

“How have you not managed to fatten up an ounce in over nine years?”

The Doctor grinned as he heard River’s voice from inside the massive closet the TARDIS had, and he leaned against the edge of the doorway, staring in appreciatively at River trying to squeeze into his coat. She had done a fairly good job of copying the rest of his look, but the coat was just not going to get any bigger to fit her more muscular arms. “Time Lord metabolism.”

“I’m part Time Lord and _I_ don’t have that metabolism,” she said in a huff. She sighed and pulled the coat off, tossing it on the floor. “It’s unfair.”

“Many things are unfair, like your treatment of my coat,” he said, coming in to pick it up. “Why the impersonation?”

“Costume party,” River said. “I was thinking we could dress as each other. There are _loads_ of my outfits I think you’d look smashing in.” She threw him a cheeky look in the mirror, knowing he could see it.

“Fancy dress or anything goes?” he asked. “There was an outfit at Stonehenge I had a fondness for.”

“Oh, good choice,” she said with an approving nod. “As long as you didn’t suggest a spacesuit of any sort, I’d like anything of mine you wore, to be honest.”

A pang run through him as his encounter with her two regenerations past ran through his mind. But time. They still had time, as it had only been nine years. More time than less, and he was thankful for that. “You know I would never suggest a space suit,” he said, moving over and pressing a kiss in her hair. He wasn’t always affectionate, but now, right now, he needed to be. He needed River close so he could forget that after this night was over, the next time he would see her would be the last time he saw her.

“Oh, don’t you go distracting me,” she said, and then she caught the look on his face and frowned. “Darling?”

“Nothing,” he said, moving to rest his chin on her shoulder. “You know, the black dress and red rumps would also look good on me.”

River laughed. “You can’t pull that off, my love. You don’t have curves in those places.”

“And yet you still love me?” he asked.

“More than anyone else,” she replied. “Even my other husbands and wives.”

“Competition,” he grumbled.

“Mmm, unless one of them is another Time Lord, you don’t have any, not anymore,” she said with an impish smile. “You’re the one who has my heart. You always have.”

“So you’re giving up your serial marriage habit?” he asked, sliding his arms around her.

“For you? Yes,” she said. “But don’t change on me again. You’re dashing while you’re young, but you’re magnificent as a dapper older gent.”

“What if I became a woman?” he asked.

“Well, the sharing clothes thing would be easier,” she said, pursing her lips. “As long as you aren’t a ginger. Scottish I can handle. Ginger...I’m as close as either of us should get.”

“But you aren’t a ginger,” he said.

“My point exactly.” She turned in his arms and gave him a quick peck. “You know, I could always go as an earlier regeneration. Where is that bloody mile-long scarf?” She pulled away and bounded deeper into the closet, clothes occasionally being tossed over her shoulder if they interfered with her view of the clothing hanging up. He watched with a bittersweet smile. His River, the woman he knew he would love for the ages, who had no idea they had so little time left. And he wouldn’t tell her.

Letting her have her happily ever after until the Library was the kindest thing he could do.


End file.
